Eat food.
Not too much.
Mostly plants.

-Michael Pollan,
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

So, when I’m not writing here or at Family Fun Delaware or the occasional freelance gig, I’m very very busy community managing over at FitFluential. One of my duties there is editing and posting to the website’s blog.

I recently wrote up a recap of one of our #livewellnow Twitter chats about superfoods, and thought my readers here might appreciate that info too.

Now, clearly I’m going to argue in favor of organic and local sources for these superfoods, but the bottom line is this: superfoods are whole foods that are nutritional powerhouses. If you can’t afford organic or find local? Then go right ahead and buy conventional. They will still do your body good.

Maximize Your Diet with Superfoods: #livewellNOW

We recently co-hosted a Twitter chat with @CoachsOats about superfoods: foods that are nutrient-dense or offer extra health benefits. Generally low in calories, these foods pack a supersized wellness wallop into every bite.

With only an hour to dedicate to the topic, we restricted ourselves to foods that are mostly familiar, readily available wherever you live, not prohibitively expensive, and not so exotic as to be totally refused by the picky eater in your family. But, if your tastebuds are ready to take it to the next level, you might want to check out foods like açaí, Goji berries, Noni fruit, marine phytoplankton and cacao!

Supercharge your diet with these superfoods!

Apples

There are tons of varieties of apples (over 7500 worldwide!) spanning from sweet to tart, to suit every taste. They’re available year-round and a really inexpensive healthy snack while in season. Apples are full of antioxidants and cholesterol-fighting fiber, and eating one takes care of 25% of your daily dose of vitamin C.

Avocados

Avocados are full of fiber and good stuff like folate, potassium, vitamin E, and magnesium. They also contain a healthy dose of monounsaturated fat, which decreases total and LDL cholesterol and improves the “good” HDL cholesterol.

Blueberries

One serving of blueberries contains as many antioxidants as five servings of other fruits. They contain polyphenols to fight free radicals, reputedly guarding against wrinkles and other signs of aging. Blueberries are also anti-inflammatory, which can help safeguard against a host of diseases.

Buckwheat

Although not actually a grain, buckwheat can be used like one, and is better for you than rice, wheat or corn. Gluten-free, buckwheat contains protein and amino acids that boost the protein content of beans and cereals. It’s a good source of fiber and vitamin B6.

Chia

This one may be new to some, but if you follow the #FitFluential hashtag on Twitter you know we’re all about the chia. These seeds do more than create amusing plant sculptures for your kitchen window! Chia seeds are a complete protein, full of fiber and antioxidants, and a good source of omega 3s; they also contain healthy levels of B vitamins, iron, calcium, zinc and anti-inflammatory flavonoids. Mixed with a liquid, chia expands into a gel. You can cook with this gel like you would an egg, mix it into drinks, make it into pudding, etc. Or, even easier, you can sprinkle chia seeds onto your food– they have virtually no taste and add a bit of crunch. Find out more about chia here.

Eggs

Eggs are little powerhouses; one of the most nutrient-dense foods out there. Low in calories, they are high in protein, antioxidants, vitamins A, B2, B5 and B12, choline, and vitamin D (filling your daily requirement of vitamin D with just one egg). Eggs contain the most essential amino acids of all the protein foods. Make sure to eat the yolk! That’s where most of the nutrition is. Katie guest-posted some great egg recipes earlier this month.

Kale

All your dark leafy greens are nutrient-rich. One serving of kale (one cup) contains about 36 calories and meets your daily requirement of Vitamin A by 354% and 1328% (!) of your Vitamin K. Kale is rich in B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and beta carotene; is anti-inflammatory, and full of fiber. Twitter chat participants overwhelmingly voted for preparing kale by sautéing with olive oil and garlic, and topping with either parmesan shavings, a squeeze of lemon, or red pepper flakes.

Oats

Probably best known for lowering cholesterol helping to manage diabetes, oats are low-calorie, high in protein and fiber. They take a long time to digest, leaving you feeling fuller for longer. Oats contain essential fats and zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron. Check out Coach’s Oats for tons of ideas for cooking with oats.

Pomegranates

Pomegranate fruits contain healthy amounts of Vitamins A, C and E as well as folic acid and antioxidants (polyphenols, tannins and anthocyanins). Studies suggest that drinking pomegranate juice may reduce blood pressure and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Quinoa

Quinoa is another complete protein, offering all the essential amino acids. Gluten-free and packed with fiber, it’s also a good source of vitamin B2, iron, phosphorus and potassium.

Lean steak & wild salmon

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or maintain it, it’s important to keep up with your protein intake. Ounce for ounce, lean beef (particularly grass-fed) and wild salmon offer the best ratio of good-for-you nutrients like protein, amino acids, iron and zinc.

The FitFluential post goes on to list 24 recipes that incorporate superfoods. Check it out but remember: probably the best way to enjoy these foods is in their natural state!

I am always looking for good healthy recipes.

If you’ve got one that involves a superfood, please link it up in the comments

If you think dogs can’t count,
try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket
and then giving Fido only two of them.

-Phil Pastoret, ‘Our Boarding House’

So, we’re trying to help our overweight dog drop five pounds by watching the amounts of food he gets, and also the quality. I’ve been on the prowl for protein-rich, filler-light food for not-so-active adult dogs, AND I needed to find a puppy chow that was large breed specific (a thing I hadn’t realized existed until the vet asked if that was what Karma was eating, whoops). Luckily, sometimes the Universe (and MrChewy.com) conspire to help a blogger out.

What’s Mr. Chewy? One-stop shopping for hassle-free delivery of  pet products: food, treats, litter and competitive pricing on Frontline flea and tick meds (having just been through six months of stubborn flea issues, I’m currently resigned to these as a necessary evil, sorry).

Given the chance to see what Mr. Chewy had to offer, I opted for The Honest Kitchen VERVE Dog Beef and Organic Grains Diet for Jimmy and Avoderm Natural Large Breed Puppy Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Formula for Karma. If you’re in the market for dog food, seriously, click these links and check out the ingredient lists. They are impressive.

The Avoderm is a standard-looking puppy kibble, but once I started adding it to her normal puppy chow (slowly, so as not to upset her stomach) Karma would refuse to eat the chow until I added that bit of Avoderm. I’m thinking that’s puppy speak for “where the heck is my avocado superfood deliciousness?” With an ingredient list that’s full of food names I recognize, plus avocado for healthy skin & fur, I feel pretty good about feeding this to her. Avoderm comes in wet and dry food, for cats and dogs.

The Honest Kitchen VERVE is pretty cool. It’s a 4-lb box of dehydrated raw dog food made with human-grade beef, vegetables, fruits and organic grains which makes 16lbs of dog food. You scoop out however much food you need and add an equivalent amount of hot water, wait a few minutes and voila! Healthy dinner for Jimmy without taking up a huge amount of space in the pantry. VERVE is specifically for senior dogs with (ahem) moderate to low activity levels; there are also formulas for sensitive stomachs, grain-free, gluten-free and cats.

I also couldn’t help but order them some treats. I know, overindulgent mommy. This is why he’s pleasantly plump.

Here I went with Newmans Own Organics Turkey and Sweet Potato Medium Size Heart Shaped Treat Dog Treats (say that 3x fast) and Dogswell Happy Hips Duck Breast Dog Treats (straight up dried meat, looks like jerky).

I love Newmans Own because their products are certified organic, and contain zero antibiotics, hormones, chemical ingredients or artificial preservatives, colors, or additives. PLUS, they donate their profits to charity (in the case of pet foods, those monies go to pet-related charities). Dogswell is one of the few brands of treats that Jimmy will eat, period, but he will totally break free of his usual stern demeanor to dance the meringue for these. No hormones, antibiotics, fillers or byproducts.

*totally gratuitous video of Jimmy doing tricks for Dogswell*

Mr. Chewy has a very impressive (70+ brands) selection of high-quality pet foods, treats, and cat litters— including way more organic, vegan and gluten-free options than any brick-and-mortar pet store or grocery I’ve ever been in. Options like:

• Blue Buffalo (natural, no by-products or artificial preservatives)
• Orijen (grain-free, limited carbs, more fresh meat than any other brand of dry food)
• Taste of the Wild (grain-free, real roasted meats, fruits & veggies for antioxidants)
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet (specifically formulated for health conditions)
• ZiwiPeak (equivalent to a raw diet)

Yeah. They don’t carry that at SuperFresh. In the week since I ordered, they’ve added a bunch more (I opted in for the email updates and have been notified of brands I might be interested in).

Love the navigation choices on this site; I was able to break down by breed (cat vs dog), then age, then specialty (in this case, I wanted natural or organic + weight loss). Mr. Chewy offers an automatic subscription service that can be canceled at any time, and you save 15% off your order right now when you select that service. Shipping is free when you spend $49 or more- a significant perk when we’re talking heavy bags of food or litter.

I placed my order very very late on a Thursday night  and it arrived on Saturday afternoon, which was awesomesauce. I do think it shipped from close by, though, so your results may vary.

AND, they have a kickass referral program. If someone orders using your referral code, they get 10% off their order AND $10 gets donated to a no-kill rescue or shelter. (My referral code is ROBI7330 if you decide to order. I don’t make anything off of it, just the animals benefit.)

GIVEAWAY!

I’ve got $25 to give one pet-loving SGOH reader to spend at MrChewy.com!  You don’t HAVE to spend it on organic products, but if you do and let me know how you like it, I will give you virtual chest bumps and high fives. Just leave me a comment letting me know what breed you’d love as your next pet (don’t front, we all windowshop for new pets! I want an Irish Wolfhound). For a bonus entry, tweet this post and leave me another comment letting me know you did I’ll randomly select a winner on February 12th, 2012.

 
This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. All prizing for MSM giveaways is handled by a third party unless otherwise noted. For this reason prize fulfillment can take up to 90 days after the winners information is received.

OK. So I’m submitting my first ever vlog as part of #VlogMoms, and it took me a million tries, and I hate my face and the way my voice sounds, and then once I finally got through it the bloody thing is nearly SIX MINUTES LONG. It kills me because I’m pretty good at public speaking… next time I’m filming from a lectern.

Certainly I have zero expectations of you sitting through six minutes of my stilted nonsense, so I’ve written up the general gist below (from what I remember saying; I’m not watching it again). However, I’m going ahead and posting this just so next week I’ll be able to see just how much I improved… seriously, I’ve got no place to go but up.

Hiya. I’m Robin and I’m trying to step out of my comfort zone a little bit, so this is my first submission for the Vlog Moms.

The prompt this week comes from the delightfully adorable Annie Schultz aka Mama Dweeb, and she wants to know about jobs we had in high school or college.

I worked a lot. I worked selling subscriptions for a theater company over the phone– I don’t recommend it– I worked in a comic book store in the mall, I flipped waffle fries briefly at Chick Fil A. I worked at a tuxedo rental place called Smalls Formalwear, I ran the cashier at the Hickory Farms kiosk during Christmas season, and I worked at a camera supply store that catered to professionals.

The best job I ever had was revamping the filing system at an insurance office, the summer between my junior and senior year. This was 1993, so before everything lived on a computer. There was this huge wall of file cabinets, and whenever there was paperwork for an account it kinda just got shoved in the file. So my job was to come in, take each file, separate out the quotes and the policies and the correspondence and the payment slips and the everything else, then arrange them by chronological order, most recent on top, highlight the dates, then hit em with the hole punch and secure them in binders. Then, I got to label them with a label gun and color-coordinated tape.

I worked with one other girl, who was a few years older than me and went to college in one of the Carolinas. It was through her that I learned that people still listen to country music in present day times. Her name was Erin, and she had a very pert nose and perfect teeth and short curly hair and a deep tan and the face of Sarah McLachlan. She looked like the kind of girl who probably went surfing on the weekends, you know? Sunny and athletic and tousled.

Erin and I had a lot of fun. We worked with our shoes off and the radio on. That was the summer that Sheryl Crow exploded on the scene, and every time All I Wanna Do came on she’d make us stop what we were doing to sing along and dance. I still do that when that song comes on the radio.

Erin was the best, most active listener I have ever met. If she was here listening to me right now she would have asked what colors I used with the label gun. When I admitted I worked at Chick-Fil-A she would have mock gasped and been like nooooooo not you!

And when I talked about the girl who made me feel like I was a storyteller, who always made me feel interesting and funny, she would have leaned in and said that she sounded like a fantastic person to know and that I was so lucky to have met her at that lonely and insecure time of my life.

And I was lucky. I think about her all the time. It’s because of her I tell stories. I think about the details she would have asked for, the turns of phrase that would have made her crack up and tell me I was something else.

I don’t have her address or anything so your hate mail will have to continue to come to me. But at least now you know who to blame

To see much better videos than mine check out the other VlogMoms participants this week: